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Big Split Poker

Last update: July 16, 2004

Introduction

Big Split Poker is a poker based video game in which the player gets 8 cards and arranges them into 5 and 3-card hands and is paid based on the poker value of one or both hands. Little skill is required, so this game may appeal to players who want something harder than slots but easier than video poker.

Rules

  1. Player bets on either (1) the 5-card pay table only, or (2) both the 5-card and 3-card pay tables.
  2. Player bets one to five coins per pay table.
  3. Player presses the deal button and gets 8 cards randomly dealt from a single deck of cards.
  4. If no win is possible, the game is immediately over.
  5. If a win is possible, the player arranges the 8 cards into a 5-card hand and a 3-card hand.
  6. When player is satisfied with his hands he presses the submit buttons.
  7. Both the 5-card hand and the 3-card hands are scored.
  8. If the player bet on the 5-card pay table only then he is paid based on that hand alone.
  9. If the player bet on both pay tables then he is paid based on product of the 5-card and 3-card pay tables.

Following are the six pay tables available for Big Split Poker with no wild cards. These are per coin and based on max coins played. A royal flush only pays 50 per coin with less than max coins played. All pays are on a "for one" basis, in other words the original wager is never returned. Pay tables for joker poker, double joker poker, and deuces may be found in Bob Dancer's article, The New Game in Town. A Friendly Look at Big Split Poker, the source for these pay tables.

Big Split Poker - Five Card Pay Tables
Hand Table 1 Table 2 Table 3 Table 4 Table 5 Table 6
Royal flush 200 200 200 200 200 200
Straight Flush 20 16 10 20 18 14
Four of a kind 10 8 7 16 14 9
Full House 5 5 5 4 4 4
Flush 2 2 2 2 2 2
Straight 2 2 2 2 2 2
Three of a kind 2 2 2 2 2 2
Two pair (jacks and twos or better) 1 1 1 1 1 1
Note: If playing only one pay table then a royal flush pays 50 per coin bet.

Big Split Poker - Three Card Pay Tables
Hand Table 1 Table 2 Table 3 Table 4 Table 5 Table 6
Three of a kind 16 16 16 14 14 14
Straight flush 15 15 14 12 12 12
Flush 4 4 4 4 4 4
Straight 4 4 4 4 4 4
Pair 2 2 2 2 2 2
Nothing 1 1 1 1 1 1

Strategy

There isn't much strategy. Just arrange the cards according to the highest possible win. You can try as many arrangements as you like and the score of each will be immediately indicated. If you put in a non-paying hand for the 5-card hand the game will warn you that a paying hand is possible. The return is higher playing both pay tables.

Return

It takes my program about six hours to run through a pay table so I only did two. Following are return tables for playing both one and two pay tables in the "full pay" table 1 above. In the table for two pay tables the return column is the product of the probability, the payoff, and 0.5. The reason for dividing by 2 is to base the return on the two coins bet. Note the return for playing both pay tables under pay table 1 is 99.95%.

Big Split Poker - Pay Table 1 - One Pay Table Return
Hand Combinations Probability Pays Return
Royal flush 3632160 0.00008619 50 0.00430942
Straight Flush 30602880 0.00072618 20 0.01452365
Four of a Kind 141638672 0.00336098 10 0.03360975
Full House 2556519168 0.0606642 5 0.30332102
Flush 2847617920 0.06757175 2 0.1351435
Straight 3756066720 0.08912853 2 0.17825706
Three of a kind 2155608000 0.0511509 2 0.10230179
Two pair (jacks and twos or better) 8256112704 0.19591111 1 0.19591111
Nonpaying hand 22394338176 0.53140016 0 0
Total 42142136400 1 0.9673773

Big Split Poker - Pay Table 1 - Two Pay Tables Return
Total return Combinations Probability Return
3200 8288 0.0000002 0.00031467
3000 9408 0.00000022 0.00033487
800 319648 0.00000758 0.003034
400 610176 0.00001448 0.0028958
320 73920 0.00000175 0.00028065
300 81536 0.00000193 0.00029022
200 2684640 0.0000637 0.00637044
160 1541904 0.00003659 0.00292705
150 1178464 0.00002796 0.0020973
80 7402528 0.00017566 0.00702625
75 7208544 0.00017105 0.00641449
40 41190016 0.00097741 0.01954814
32 87833312 0.00208422 0.03334745
30 123453120 0.00292945 0.04394169
20 271201056 0.00643539 0.06435389
16 147974400 0.00351132 0.02809054
15 113088192 0.00268349 0.02012621
10 184812096 0.00438545 0.02192723
8 3029319776 0.07188339 0.28753357
5 1222040736 0.02899807 0.07249518
4 3719582496 0.08826279 0.17652558
2 6041842464 0.14336821 0.14336821
1 4744341504 0.11257952 0.05628976
0 22394338176 0.53140016 0
Total 42142136400 1 0.9995332

Next are the return tables for a pay table 3, which I saw at the MGM Grand on July 15, 2004.

Big Split Poker - Pay Table 3 - One Pay Table Return
Hand Combinations Probability Pays Return
Royal flush 3632160 0.00008619 50 0.00430942
Straight Flush 30602880 0.00072618 10 0.00726182
Four of a Kind 141638672 0.00336098 7 0.02352683
Full House 2556519168 0.0606642 5 0.30332102
Flush 2847617920 0.06757175 2 0.1351435
Straight 3756066720 0.08912853 2 0.17825706
Three of a kind 2155608000 0.0511509 2 0.10230179
Two pair (jacks and two or better) 8256112704 0.19591111 1 0.19591111
Nonpaying hand 22394338176 0.53140016 0 0
Total 42142136400 1 0.95003255

Big Split Poker - Pay Table 3 - Two Pay Tables Return
Total return Combinations Probability Return
3200 8288 0.0000002 0.00031467
2800 9408 0.00000022 0.00031254
800 319648 0.00000758 0.003034
400 610176 0.00001448 0.0028958
200 2684640 0.0000637 0.00637044
160 73920 0.00000175 0.00014033
140 81536 0.00000193 0.00013543
112 1541904 0.00003659 0.00204894
98 1178464 0.00002796 0.00137024
80 4612608 0.00010945 0.00437814
70 7208544 0.00017105 0.00598686
40 2789920 0.0000662 0.00132405
32 89844384 0.00213194 0.03411099
28 158383680 0.00375832 0.0526165
20 221160576 0.00524797 0.05247968
16 148883952 0.0035329 0.0282632
14 144883536 0.00343797 0.02406581
10 146961024 0.00348727 0.01743635
8 3083062976 0.07315868 0.29263471
7 5691840 0.00013506 0.00047272
5 1222040736 0.02899807 0.07249518
4 3719582496 0.08826279 0.17652558
2 6041842464 0.14336821 0.14336821
1 4744341504 0.11257952 0.05628976
0 22394338176 0.53140016 0
Total 42142136400 1 0.97907013

Other Information

bigsplitpoker.com: Features a play for fun game and list of casinos where game can be played.

IGT: Overview of the game.

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